Where to go for Cinema Studies

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>I am going into my senior year of high school right now and I want to major in Cinema/Film Studies when I go to university. I am a Florida resident and not a minority. I have 150 hours of community service, and I will have my AA done with by the time I graduate. So far my GPA in college is a 4.0 and I am going to try my hardest to keep it at that. My unweighted high school GPA will be around a 3.7, 3.8 or 3.9 I think (two semesters I got a C in high school). I have not belonged to any clubs in high school but I am thinking of joining the film club in the fall. Also, I have signed up to take an intro to film course at the college I am getting my AA at. I got an 1840 on the SAT (1220 on just reading and math), but I am taking the SAT again in October and the ACT in September. </p>

<p>Based on all that information, what schools should I apply to? I was considering NYU but that looks incredibly expensive. My family has a pretty good income (120,000?) but I only live with my mother and I think NYU might be difficult - especially with the price of living in New York. </p>

<p>Also, if this helps at all, I am going to try to go to graduate school and eventually get my Ph. D. for cinema studies.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

2

<p>You really need to do something about your extracurriculars. Have you played any sports? Go on any trips? Extracurriculars are a critical part of the application. </p>

<p>I would look into </p>

<p>Florida State (one of the best film schools in the nation)
Chapman
Loyola Marymount
San Fransisco State
Temple
Texas</p>

<p>I would stay away from schools like USC and NYU due to cost. You’re not going to get very much aid due to your income bracket, and if you want to pursue graduate school you should probably then go to a place like USC or NYU.</p>

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<p>Exanbumember, There are many good film schools out there, but keep in mind not every school will offer good merit-aid. Make sure you do your research. I advice you to look into Chapman if you’re looking for a need-blind aid. Chapman has an excellent need-blind merit-aid scholarship program for applicants with excellent stats if you get admitted, better aid than most schools out there. They are highly competitive though to get in and have a power house, top notch film programs with the best facilities and own feature film production company in addition to a world-class faculty in the industry. They are looking for talent as well as stats. Best of luck!</p>

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<p>OCELITE, the OP is looking into film studies programs, not production. Chapman still has an excellent program for film studies, and should be near the top of your list.</p>

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<p>destinyhelp, Yes, I’m aware that the OP is looking into film studies. I’m also making sure that the OP is aware about the competitiveness of all of the film majors at Chapman’s Dodge College, including film studies. Regardless of their majors at Dodge, every student will have opportunities to acquire a hands-on introduction to production, etc., utilizing their facilities.</p>

<p>Overview: B.A. Film Studies
"Study film history, critical theory and the language of aesthetics as well as develop the writing skills necessary to be a great film critic or film historian.</p>

<p>At Dodge College, youÂ’ll explore film history, theory and criticism in depth while acquiring a hands-on introduction to production, including cinematography, lighting, editing, and sound design. This unique combination of theoretical knowledge and filmmaking practice will give you a distinctive understanding of how the essential elements of film work together, something that studying theory alone simply canÂ’t do.</p>

<p>Not only will you learn how the language of film has developed over time, youÂ’ll gain an understanding of how film has been and is understood in different historical and cultural contexts. Along with a broad liberal arts education, youÂ’ll study:</p>

<p>• Film genres, such as film noir, the Western, the musical, horror and comedy
• International cinema, including Asian, British, French, Mexican and German
• Important filmmakers like John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese
• Film analysis using classical theories developed by both formalists and realists
• Filmmaking practices, critical film movements, and the cultural impact of cinema
• The relationship of films to the issues of class, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity as well as cultural and national identities</p>

<p>At the end of your four years, youÂ’ll emerge as a true connoisseur of the history and theory of cinema, ready to put those skills to good use as a film critic or film instructor, festival organizer or film preservationist."</p>

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<p>I did some rearranging.</p>

<p>Take a look at swissbeauty’s “Big List…” re-featured at the very top of this forum. Those schools offer degree programs in either cinema studies or film production. Some offer both. Click links to go to each school’s website. It’s a huge list, so is a starting-point for your consideration. </p>

<p>Also see two threads begun by Digmedia. One remains featured at top of this forum. The other is stickied at the top-of-page-one here. He has a good handle on the professional aspects of working in film or film-related careers, and how one’s education impacts that goal.</p>

<p>I’d recommend you read all 3 threads as a good starting point for your inquiry. </p>

<p>As well, I’m sure others will continue to chime in to your thread. So far we’ve heard from Destinyhelp and Ocelite, offering you advice on specific schools.</p>

<p>Best wishes in your research!</p>

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Temple does a good job with merit $$ based purely on grades & test scores.

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Hello :smiley: I’m a film studies enthusiast as well but right now I’m looking at taking internships before I would enter college or even try to apply to a study abroad program. :slight_smile: Have you decided where you’d attend college yet?

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the best film studies programs are stanford and yale. those 2 are like the best.
but if you have no confidence getting into those 2, I will stick with destinyhelp’s list

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reposting! …

As a film professor for the past 5 years, let me say this. You want to go to a school in which its professors are/were professionals in their craft. I don’t care what the school is or even if their credits were mediocre at best, you want to go to a school where all/most of its faculty made a living solely doing what they’re teaching. Too many schools, mine included, are full of academics who have no real world experience (NOTE: exceptions to this is that if you’re planning to get a PhD in film and want to become an academic but I don’t recommend that to anyone because this is an adjunct nation.)

I say this because my department is full of tenured professors who haven’t done anything remotely creative in years. Or they’re full of part-time professors (me) who struggle to make a living.

Don’t go to a school that has that one quasi-celebrity stopping by for a two-hour guest lecture. Credits means a movie you’ve heard of or know the people in it, not some indie film without distribution. Again, it doesn’t have to be amazing credits either.

I hate to sound so negative here, but as someone who has lived and breathed film school since his early 20’s, I’ve seen so many people not getting what they pay for. For example, my program does not require its students to write a full-length screenplay, make a tv show, or direct a short film. I wanted to make our program more challenging but it’s fallen on deaf ears. I now feel my job, for better or worse, is to simply shuffle these kids through our system and I feel horrible about it, but I have 5 other classes to teach in addition to the ones I teach at the film school.

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I’m looking at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s new Film department in NYC. https://www.fitnyc.edu/film-and-media

They have a precollege film criticism workshop this summer that looks interesting.